SUP denied for food trailer sales

A special use permit (SUP) to allow a restaurant to operate in a trailer in a lakefront parking lot was denied after the case was continued and the need for the permit was no longer needed with the summer tourist season now over.

A special use permit (SUP) to allow a restaurant to operate in a trailer in a lakefront parking lot was denied after the case was continued and the need for the permit was no longer needed with the summer tourist season now over.

The Camden County Board of Adjustment denied the permit Sept. 25 after it had continued the hearing from its August meeting at the request of applicant Anthony Bommarito, Jr.

The BOA allows applicants the option of continuing their case if a full board is not present but a quorum is established.

The five member board requires a supermajority to pass a motion. A unanimous vote of those present is required when there is an absence.

With one board member not present in August, Bommarito chose to delay the case.

This summer, Bommarito was selling food out of a trailer next to the former Dock Knockers Restaurant on Crow Rd. in the Horseshoe Bend area of Lake Ozark.

Bommarito formerly operated the restaurant and bar at the 4 mile marker under a lease of the property. Ralph Keeney III is the managing trustee of the estate left by his father — Bommarito's grandfather. Bommarito and Keeney are now involved in a lawsuit over the property and business.

With the lawsuit ongoing, Bommarito sought to continue his business out of a trailer he had hauled into a parking lot that is located on a 24,000 square foot lot that he owns and is adjacent to the Dock Knockers building.

The SUP was necessary because the county prohibits sales from mobile structures. The permit would only have allowed the technically mobile restaurant to continue temporarily for the summer while the legal issues are resolved.

P&Z Administrator Don Hathaway described the permit application as an "emergency request" by Bommarito to continue his business after the dispute with his uncle.

"We did not know all the extenuating circumstances when he applied," Hathaway said. "After the review, we have a clearer picture of where it's at today."

Despite the existence of the commercial parking lot that has been there for a currently unknown amount of time, the property is zoned residential and a home is located on a hill above the parking lot.

Bommarito's application to rezone the property commercial is still an ongoing case with the Camden County Planning Commission.

The rezoning would convert the non-conforming use of the commercial parking lot to the matching zoning, allowing it to continue as an accessory use to Dock Knockers if it reopens.

Bommarito was granted a continuance of the rezoning case at the Sept. 18 meeting of the planning commission.

Another legal dispute has emerged over public access to the trailer.

A driveway on Crow Rd. provides access to the residence on Bommarito's property. With a steep grade between the house and the lake, however, the public cannot access the business through this property.

Page 2 of 2 - For access to the trailer, Bommarito is involved in another lawsuit over a disputed easement through Wheelhouse Marina property and Modular Concrete Docks.

Bommarito's use of a neighborhood wastewater treatment plant for Wheelhouse Marina and nearby condominiums for public bathrooms in the parking lot is also in question. Bommarito's lot lies within Horseshoe Bend No. 9 subdivision as well which has covenants against trailers, mobile homes or any temporary structures.